ENTREPRENEURS
Make your mark as CEO.
Our Entrepreneur-in-Residence program prepares entrepreneur-operators to step into great businesses as effective and successful leaders, preserve the legacy of the business, and lead the company into its next phase of growth.
At a high level, NGP is seeking asset-light, mission-critical outsourced B2B services businesses in the United States with strong financial performance, diversified customer base, and strong management team.
Why NextGen Growth Partners?
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What to expect
Partnerships are at the heart of everything we do. When you partner with NGP, you can expect our advisors, deal team, investors, as well as current and prior EIRs to help you with your search, and be a constant source of support.
As part of your EIR application, we’ll ask that you provide the 2 to 3 industries you intend on searching within. These industries should not only be a fit within NGP’s B2B Services theses, but should have a visible link to your previous experiences and career. We want to understand your unique qualifications to search and operate within that space.
At NGP, our Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) onboarding program ensures a strong start to the ETA journey. Over a four-week, self-guided process, EIRs gain the knowledge, tools, and confidence needed to hit the ground running from day one. This includes access to curated resources, collaborative meetings with our team, and shadowing opportunities to observe search in action. While onboarding provides the foundation, search at NGP is a continuous journey of learning and development. We’re committed to supporting EIRs with the guidance and resources they need to succeed every step of the way.
At NGP, talent development focuses on equipping EIRs with the skills and strategies to excel in their search journey. Through collaboration with our Talent and Investments Teams, EIRs refine their investment thesis, hone their outreach and relationship-building approaches, and develop the tools to evaluate prospective opportunities effectively. Our Talent Team provides targeted support to enhance search efficiency and build meaningful connections, while the Investments Team offers strategic insights to deal execution. Together, we ensure EIRs are well-prepared to identify and seize the right opportunities, fostering confidence and success throughout their entrepreneurial journey. After transacting, our new CEOs are supported by our Portfolio Operations function.
The Investments Team is comprised of seasoned investment professionals who work alongside our Entrepreneurs-in-Residence through the search, due diligence, and transaction processes. From the launch of a search, they help identify industries of interest, vet prospects, speak to management teams, conduct due diligence, and facilitate relationships with necessary external service providers.
NGP has been generating leads since 2016. As a result, our CRM is full of thousands of leads, so our EIRs don’t have to start from scratch. Of our current portfolio holdings, two companies were “boomerangs,” meaning it was acquired alongside an EIR who revisited it as as previous outreach target. In addition to our CRM, NGP provides EIRs licenses to several necessary software platforms to help streamline sourcing.
The due diligence process takes approximately 90 days, and features several steps and external service providers, including further Business Diligence, Financial & Tax Diligence, Lender Diligence, IT Diligence, Background Checks, Insurance Diligence, and Legal Diligence. Our team is supporting our EIR every step of the process, including creation of financial models and third-party workstreams. They also solicit, review, and negotiate term sheets with lenders.
NGP is dedicated to supporting your journey to CEO.
In the final stages of acquisition, we strive to ensure the transaction happens as smoothly and efficiently as possible, including managing the Funds Flow.
Before you step into the CEO seat, our Portfolio Operations team is there to support with Board Member strategy and selection, the initial Value Creation Plan (VCP), enabling you to hit the ground running and lay the groundwork to achieve the investment thesis, and Day 1 Planning including the overall communication plan and stakeholder communications strategies.
From Day 1 to exit, the Portfolio Operations team supports Value Creation Plan development and prioritization, provides surge capacity at times of need, and serves as an advisor on select strategic and operational topics.
Similarly, if the right M&A opportunity arises, our Deal Team will help diligence and execute, just as with a platform investment.
Throughout the course of their search, our EIRs gain mentorship from NGP’s advisory board members. Post-close, it is common for the new CEO to ask an NGP advisor to sit on the business’s Board of Directors to continue to relationship.
“The NGP Deal Team provided an immense amount of guidance during my search and diligence process. With their experience and support, I felt confident in navigating the many parties involved in a successful close, from investors to service providers. That support has continued through my time as CEO, and members of the NGP team now serve on the DAWGS board.
Nick Oberhouse, Former EIR
Are you ready to lead a company into its next phase of growth?
OUR CRITERIA
EIR candidates must be motivated, passionate, bias to action, and persistent.
Possess sharp analytical and financial skills.
A high EQ, coachability, curiosity, integrity, and exceptional communication skills.
Experience is everything. Potential candidates must have a track record of achievement and leadership.
EIRs must be team players and open to any and all collaboration opportunities.
FAQ
A transaction can take anywhere from 1 to 2 years. Every individual Entrepreneur-in-residence that has partnered with our firm has successfully acquired a business or is currently searching.
Our EIRs have access to our entire network of seasoned advisors, operators, and team members that will help guide them through the entire process, specifically our deal team. The deal team is involved in every facet of the transaction. They help EIRs negotiate the deal, secure funding, liaise with the service providers, craft the investment memo, and help with the value creation plan. Keep in mind, every step of the transaction is carefully managed and monitored by NGP mentors and advisors.
As an EIR you’ll need to be resourceful, proactive, and ready to hustle. We look for candidates who are motivated, bias to action, and persistent. EIR candidates need to have sharp analytical and financial skills as well as a high EQ and track record of achievement and leadership. When it comes to personality, potential candidates should be coachable, curious, maintain strong integrity, possess effective communication skills, remain open to collaboration, and always be a team player.
A common misconception is that searchers only come from private equity backgrounds and that simply is not true. Our EIRs come from all different backgrounds—from technology to construction services to the wine and spirits industry, if you’ve got the drive to begin our search we’re here to help you.
Interested in learning more about our EIR program? Let’s talk ⟶
Becoming an EIR is a very thorough process at NextGen. It begins with an initial screening where we get to know who you are and what you’re interested in. Next, you’ll go through the application process followed by an interview and case study. Our team will then perform a personality assessment to make sure you’re a good fit for our team. Following your personality assessment, our advisory board will perform an evaluation, we’ll check your references, and then comes your offer.
When you become an EIR at NextGen you gain access to our entire network of seasoned advisors, operators, and team members that will have your back from day one. Our partnership doesn’t end once EIRs move into their new roles as CEOs. Post-acquisition we provide CEOs with a board of directors, a director of portfolio operations, formal onboarding, regular check-ins, a career coach, and all of the NGP tools, resources, and best practices.
Dip your toe in the water.
Contact us to start an exploratory conversation about becoming an entrepreneur-in-residence or joining the executive team of one of our portfolio companies.
